Always Together
by Kylie-Chan
Summary: Johnny and Dally are best friends, and they always will be. But when Dally has to move to New York, how does Johnny take it? And three years later when he comes back, is he still the friend Johnny remembered? Eventual JCxDW slash, among other pairings.
1. Like Brothers

A/N: This is a sort of prequel to my fic, 'Always Asking'. It's about the Outsiders boys and my OC, Ashley. She's kind of a minor character in the first few chapters though. And I know you've all heard it a million times before, but Ashley IS NOT a Mary Sue. God no. Her character will be more explained in the story, so with that said-

WARNING: Contains swearing and violence. May also contain future slash.

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Outsiders'. Damnit. It belongs to S.E. Hinton.

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"Dally...hey, Dal, you gonna get up anytime soon?"

9-year-old Dallas Winston opened his eyes slowly, seeing a sort of fuzzy outline of his best friend, 8-year-old Johnny Cade, above him. "Wha...Johnnycake? What the hell time is it?".

"It's 9:15," Johnny answered, blinking his big, black eyes. "Mrs. Curtis said that breakfast is gonna be ready in a few minutes, and I didn't want you to miss it or nothin'."

Dally mumbled something incoherently as he turned over, burying his head in the pillow. Johnny shook his head, grinning despite himself. Dally hated getting up on the mornings, and always put up a struggle before he would begrudgingly make his way to the kitchen. "Come on Dally, she's makin' pancakes, and everybody else is already up." Johnny sighed, seeing that this was going nowhere. "Please?"

Dally raised his head from his pillow and glared at Johnny. "That ain't fair," he pouted, but he got up and sluggishly walked to the kitchen. Dally always gave in when Johnny said 'please'. Johnny just smiled and followed behind him.

When they finally got into the kitchen, Mrs. Curtis was already giving Darry and Ashley their plates. Dallas wasn't surprised to see that Darry had about 7 or 8 pancakes on his plate. He ate like a horse, even at 12. Mrs. Curtis looked up and smiled warmly at the two boys. "Good morning Dallas. Sleep okay?" Dally nodded, stretching a little bit while he waited for his food. Steve, age 9, who was wrestling Sodapop, also 9, on the living room floor, called out, "Hey, sleeping beauty, you wanna help me out over here?"

Dally glared and said, "I think I'd rather help Sodapop." Johnny giggled and Soda laughed,although he was promptly stopped when Steve flipped him over and had his arm behind his back.

"Holler uncle!"

"No way!"

Dally suddenly ran and tackled Steve, pushing him off of Sodapop. Johnny laughed, while Steve glared darkly at the towheaded boy beside him. "What the hell was that for!"

Dally grinned wickedly. "I told you I'd rather help Soda."

Soda was doubled over laughing now, and Steve couldn't help but laugh a little too. Dally, satisfied with himself, got up and walked back to the kitchen, Johnny following behind him once again.

"Hey, don't Johnny look like a little puppy dog, followin' Dally around like that?" Steve whispered to Soda.

"Yeah," Soda agreed, smiling. "It's cute. And he'd probably never tell anybody this, but I think Dally likes it." Steve nodded. Soda was always good at seeing things in people that others couldn't. It was how he and Soda became friends anyways, and he'd learned to trust his ability pretty quickly.

Mrs. Curtis handed both Johnny and Dally a plate, although her eyes were on Soda and Steve, who were back to wrestling again. "Those two...honestly, you'd think they were brothers from the way they acted." Then she looked back at Johnny and Dally again, who had both gone to sit on the coach with Two-Bit, who was watching Mickey Mouse with a sort of reverent expression on his face. She smiled, thinking about how much Dallas and Johnny were like brothers too. Johnny clearly looked up to Dally, and Dally cared about Johnny as though he was a little brother. It was sweet, and Mrs. Curtis was happy that the two would always have eachother. Just like Steve would always have Sodapop.

"Mommy, whatcha lookin' at?"

Mrs. Curtis looked down to find her youngest son, Ponyboy, tugging on her dress. She smiled at him and ruffled his hair. "Nothing sweetie. Did you finish all your food?"

Dally watched in amusement as Johnny pratically swallowed his pancakes whole, acting as though he hadn't eaten in years. Dally inwardly winced. Knowing what kind of home Johnny came from, that wouldn't be too surprising. Dally hated Roger and Maria Cade without mercy, and he told himself that when he got older, he would beat _them_ up, see how they liked a taste of their own goddamned medicine. He looked at Johnny and felt a pang in his heart, one that he got almost every time he thought about the younger boy's living conditions. Johnny had been his best friend since he was 7 and Johnny was 6, so Dally knew that even though the boy tried to hide it, what his parents did and said to him really hurt. And the worst part of it was that Johnny still loved those low-life assholes, and all he wanted was for them to love him back. Dallas clenched his fists, grinding his teeth together. He wished he wasn't so young, so powerless and unable to help his friend. But if he couldn't protect Johnny from his parents, then he would at least protect him from everything else. Anyone who even so much as _looked_ at Johnny the wrong way would get their asses handed to them. Dallas Winston may have only been 9, but he knew how to fight.

"Dally? Dally, you okay?" Johnny stared at his friend worriedly, his big black eyes shinging with fear.

Dally shook his head and said, "Yeah, I'm okay." He saw the fear in Johnny's and was puzzled. "What'sa matter Johnnycake?"

"Oh, nothin'," Johnny answered, his ears turning red. "I just kinda thought...well, you looked mad, so I thought maybe you were mad at me..." Johnny knew it sounded stupid, but it was the truth. Johnny hated for anyone to be mad at him, especially Dally.

Dally was surprised and his eyes widened. "What? Glory, no, Johnny, I ain't mad at ya. Why on earth would ya think that?"

Johnny shrugged and turned his eyes downcast. "I dunno...lots of people get mad at me."

"Well, I ain't," Dally said with finality. "And I'm never gonna be, you savvy Johnny?"

He nodded, and his face broke out into a grin. Whenever he felt down, he knew he'd always be able to count on Dally.

"Hey, can you two keep it down?" Two-Bit asked, turning to face them. "I can barely hear Mickey!"

Dallas rolled his eyes and looked at Johnny, a devilish smile on his lips. "Want to?" The same smile worked it's way onto Johnny's face as well, and he nodded. The both turned around and tackled Two-Bit off of the couch, causing the said boy to yelp loudly.

"Hey, that ain't fair!" Two-Bit shouted, struggling to break free from their hold. "You and Johnny ganging up on poor, defenseless me! And using Mickey as a ploy! That just ain't right!"

Johnny, who was giggling his head off, made the mistake of loosening his grip on Two-Bit, which allowed him to regain use of one of his arms to push Johnny off of him, and then Dally. Then he jumped up with a triumphant grin on his face. "Ha!"

Dally made a face at Two-Bit, who smugly plopped himself back onto the couch. Then he turned to Johnny and said, "We'll get him next time."

The younger boy nodded and smiled, one of his soft, happy smiles. Dally ruffled his hair affectionately, and Johnny sighed, leaning into the touch. Sometimes, when he was with Dally, he could forget that his home was a broken place with no love or happiness. He could forget that his parents were drunks, who were always yelling at either Johnny or eachother. He could forget that his parents didn't love him. All because Dally was here, and he loved Johnny enough to make him feel like he didn't need his parents. They both settled back down on the couch, Johnny with his head against Dally's shoulder, Dally with his arm slung loosely around Johnny's shoulders. Johnny felt so content that he wished this would last forever; that he and Dally could live here with the Curtises, that they would adopt them and they'd never have to go back to there horrible homes again. But he knew that it wouldn't be able to happen; Mr. and Mrs. Curtis were wonderful people, but they already had pretty big money problems raising their own three boys.

"Hey Johnny, you noddin' off already?"

Johnny looked up sleepily. "Yeah..."

Dallas chuckled softly."And we only woke up about an hour ago, too."

Johnny nodded, and his eyes were drooping. "I dunno...I just feel really tired..."

Johnny knew that it was partly because he was so comfortable and relaxed at the moment, but the fact that he had barely slept last night because of all the nightmares he'd had was probably a factor as well. Dally knew this and gently said, "Get some sleep Johnnycake." The tan boy gave another sleepy nod, and was fast asleep within the next few minutes.

Dally smiled and leaned his head against Johnny's, yawning. He hadn't slept much either the night before, mostly because Johnny had kept waking him up with his nightmares. Dally didn't mind it too much, but he always stayed up sometime after Johnny would go back to sleep, waiting to see if the black haired boy would be waking up again. Now Dally was feeling the after effects of this, and he decided to sleep a little longer too. He knew Mr. and Mrs. Curtis wouldn't mind it, and the other boys (and girl, in Ashley's case), would just leave the two alone until they woke up. Emitting another yawn, Dally slowly drifted into sleep, his last thoughts being that he wanted to stay here in this house forever, listening to the faint laughs from Two-Bit, the playful arguments between Steve and Soda, the soft voices of the Curtis parents talking to Ponyboy, and the light hearted talks between Darry and Ashley.

Little did he know that he had less than a week left to be around his friends.

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Gosh, this was fun. I'm gonna get started on the second chapter tomorrow, cause right now I'm beat. Hope ya'll liked it.:)

Note: I don't know Johnny's parent's names, so I made them up. Also, I know Dally seems a little different, but that's because this happens before he goes to New York. yawns Lord, I'm tired. I love Johnny and Dally so much. See you guys later.


	2. Don't Leave Me

A/N: I feel inspired.:D This is a slightly angsty chapter, but since there will be lots of angst in future chapters, I'm going to try and go easy on it. :)

And I would also like to dedicate this chapter to **Sarah126**. It makes me happy to know that I have brightened your day with my story, especially since I know how bad it can get when parents try and make bad days worse. Actually, I'd been having a pretty rough time today as well, because my dad was yelling at me for all sorts of things. Then I got online and read your review, and I started grinning like an idiot. I just want to let you know that _you_ brightened _my_ day, and I thank you so much for it. :D XD And yes, DallyJohnny slash totally kicks ass. Thanks again for the heart-lifting review, and I hope you like this chapter.:)

Disclaimer: Wait, didn't I already do this? It's the same disc. as the one in the first chapter.

WARNING: Swearing, Language, and future slash.

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At about 3:00 P.M., Mrs. Curtis heard a knock on the door. She had been washing dishes in the kitchen, and when she heard the rough, pounding noise. she became worried that it would awake the two-occupants of the living room couch. So she sighed and dried her hands off, leaving to go to the front door. She paused for a moment to look at the two boys curled up on the couch and a smiled tugged at her lips. Dally's arms were wrapped around Johnny protectively, his head resting on top of a mess of black hair. Johnny's head and torso were resting against Dally's chest, his head neatly ducked under Dally's chin. It was at times like these that Mrs. Curtis wished they could afford a camera. Then she jumped slightly when the knocking continued, and quickly hurried to the front door. When she opened it, she was surprised to find that it was Dallas's father.

"Michael," she acknowledged coolly. Normally, she would've been far mor polite, but sometimes she just coudn't. Especially not to Michael Winston. The way he treated Dally, you'd almost think he was a stray cat or something, and not his little boy. She often thought regretfully of how Dally was over at her house instead of at home.

"Where's Dallas?" He asked gruffly. Mrs. Curtis was slightly surprised when she realized that he was sober.

"He's asleep," she answered curtly.

"Well, get 'im up," he said.

She glared at him, but thought better of saying anything. She may not have liked it, but he was Dally's father, and Dally was his child. She had to do what he asked. So she went back over to the couch, and regretfully began shaking Dallas's shoulder. "Dally," she said gently. "Wake up sweetheart." Dallas stirred, his eyes opening slowly.

"Huh?"

"Dallas, honey, you're dad's here."

Dally's eyes hardened and he said, "I don't wanna talk to him."

Mrs. Curtis frowned. "I know. But you have to."

Dally's eyes flicked down to Johnny, and Mrs. Curtis saw a sad look cross his face for a moment. Then he looked back at her and nodded, gently removing his arms from around Johnny, and best as he could, he slowly got up, trying not to wake the smaller boy. But his efforts were in vain, as the younger boy's eyes sleepily flew open. "Dally?"

"Shh, s'okay kid. My dad's here, and I gotta go talk to him. I'll be right back, okay?"

Johnny nodded, although now he was worried. Why was Mr. Winston here?

Dallas walked over to the door, wearing a wary expression on his elf-like face. He stared coldly at his dad and said, "What?"

"Come out here, boy, I gotta talk to you." Dallas followed his father outside, his facial expression un-changing. Johnny quickly got up and went to the front door to stand by Mrs. Curtis. At first they were talking quietly; or at least, Dally's father was. Then, without warning, Dally's expression turned to one of fury, and he screamed, "NO!"

"Now, look here boy, we have to do this. Lisa-Ann's family want her in New York, and she's your mother now so you gotta-"

"THAT _WHORE _IS NOT MY MOTHER, AND I'M NOT MOVING TO NEW YORK WITH YOU!" Dallas shouted.

Johnny felt his heart drop. New York? Dally was moving to New York? Mrs. Curtis was shocked as well, and when she looked down at Johnny, she was frightened to see that his face was as white as paper.

Mr. Winston was starting to get angry too, and he said, "Don't you talk about Lisa-Ann that way! She and I love eachother, and we're moving to New York!"

"YEAH, WELL YOU DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT ME! AND I DON'T CARE IF YOU LOVE THAT FUCKING TRAMP, I'M NOT LEAVING TULSA JUST SO YOU AND THAT BITCH CAN FUCK EACHOTHER EVERY NIGHT!" Then Dallas took of running towards the lot, tears streaming down his cheeks despite himself. And without a second thought, Johnny ran after him.

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Dallas threw himself to the ground, pounding his fists in the grass. How dare he! How _dare_ that bastard call that whore his mother! His mother had died a year ago, his mother had been meek and caring, his mother hadn't smelled like alcohol and cigarettes. And now he was going to New York? What about the gang? What about Johnny? Oh god...Johnny had heard everything...he slammed his fist into the ground again. "Damnit! Goddamnit!"

"D-Dally!"

He looked up despairingly to see Johnny running towards him. He looked horrified, and quickly threw his arms around Dally. "Dally...Dally, why do you have to leave? Please, don't leave..."

Dally froze for a second, then let out a sob, fiercely clinging to Johnny. "I-I don't want to leave! I don't wanna leave the gang here, and I don't wanna leave you here! Damnit, Johnny, what do I do...?" His voice broke into sobs, and Johnny held him, just like Dally had held him last night when he woke up crying from one of his nightmares. He only wished that he could tell Dally that it was all a dream, a horrible nightmare that they would wake up from. That they would wake up on the couch, and none of this had happened. At that moment, Johnny was willing to give anything to have made it all a dream. But it wasn't so; Dally's dad was really going to take him away, to New York, of all places. And Johnny would really be left all alone.

"W-When are you leaving?" Johnny asked, his voice shaking uncontrollably. He was trying so desperately to be strong for Dally, like Dally had always been strong for him, but he couldn't keep the shaking sobs out of his voice.

"Friday," Dallas choked out, his voice slightly muffled as he buried his face into Johnny's shoulder.

Johnny felt his heart sink. Friday? Today was Sunday, so that meant that there was only 5 days left. Five days left to say goodbye to his best friend. He squeezed Dally tighter, and he could feel him doing the same thing.

"I'm sorry Johnny...I'm so, so sorry..."

"It's okay Dally, it ain't your fault."

After awhile Dally's sobs stopped, and he fell asleep, still clutching Johnny as though his life depended on it. Johnny stayed awake for a little while afterwards, contemplating what he should do. Then sleepiness took over, and he went to sleep too.

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A few hours later, Dally finally woke up. At first he didn't remember anything, wondering why he and Johnny were sleeping in the lot. Then it came rushing back to him; his father telling him that they were moving, him running to the lot, Johnny following after him, holding him while sobbed and cried. Strangely enough, it was similar to what he'd been doing for Johnny just last night, holding him until he was finally lulled back to sleep. Last night...it seemed like ages ago now. So much had happened in between then in now. His whole life had been shattered in one, horrible moment.

He gently shook Johnny's shoulder, hating to wake the younger boy, but needing him to be up so that he knew he wasn't alone. "Johnnycake...hey, Johnny, wake up..."

Johnny's eyes opened drowsily, and when he realized that they were in the lot, Dally saw the same, momentary confusion that he had felt upon waking up. But then the confusion faded into sadness, and Dally knew he had remembered. "Hey Dal..." He said softly.

"Hey."

For awhile, neither of them spoke. They just sat and watched the sky, which was sparkling with stars. For once, Johnny hated how the stars shimmered and flickered. He hated how it seemed so happy, when his best friend was only five days away from leaving him forever.

"I'll write you," Dally said quietly. Johnny looked at him with a questioning gaze, so Dally repeated himself. "I'll write you. From New York. Every, single day." He looked at Johnny and managed to grin at him. "I hope you don't mind reading."

"'Course I don't." He looked away. "I'm gonna write you too. As much as I can. I might not be good with writin' stuff, but I'll do it. If you don't mind reading," he said, grinning back at Dally.

"Shoot, Johnny, if they're letters from you, I'd read 'em til dawn." Then he leaned over and kissed him.

It wasn't meant to be a romantic kiss. It was simply a gesture between two people who loved eachother; they were eachother's only family. Just their lips pressed together, soft and simple. But when they pulled away from eachother, Johnny felt as though a fire had been lit inside him, and that the warmth was spreading through his whole body. Dally felt exactly the same.

Dallas put his arm around Johnny's shoulders, bringing him close. Johnny rested his head against Dally's shoulder again, and it reminded them both of when they had been on the couch earlier; except something had changed. They weren't sure what it was, or if it was good or bad, but at the moment, neither of them cared. They were just enjoying being near eachother, savoring the happiness that came from the kiss. After awhile they both drifted off, each with thoughts of the other on their minds.

And they both knew that no matter what, that no matter how much distance would be put between them, that they would always be close.

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Woah...so much for going easy on the angst.Oo; Oh well, I still liked how it came out; sorry for the shortness, by the way. I just wrote what came to me, and I guess that wasn't very much.--; I'll try and make the next chapter longer though. And you have no idea how much I enjoyed writing the last part. :) And hey, it didn't take me forever to come up with an update! New record for me! Well, til next time! X3


	3. I'll Miss You

A/N: I like writing this story. I really, really do. It makes me feel so happy, even the sad parts. I enjoy it so much, and I haven't gotten a bad review for it yet.:)

**Sarah126**: I'm glad.:D It makes me happy to know that I can brighten your day by just writing my story. And I'm glad you liked the dedication; you deserved it! Hee, writing it gave me a warm feeling too.:) And the kiss was my _favorite_ part to write. Thank you so much for the wonderful review! Eh...me and my dad haven't really talked much today, although he did end up criticizing me on a few things. I don't feel too bad though, and I hope you and your mom make up soon. Haha, Dally yelling at his dad was a WONDERFULLY enjoyable thing to write. Especially since I was mad at my own dad that day.:D lol, we're both bad, but you know what they say about bad girls having more fun.;P

WARNING: Swearing, violence, and future slash.

Disclaimer: Same as the one in the first chapter.

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The next morning, Johnny was the first to awake. He was curled up to Dally, whose arms were wrapped tight around his thin, tan body, and he didn't want to move. So he stayed, the warmth from his and Dally's bodies enough to lull him into a calm sense of mind, listening to Dally's steady, comforting heartbeat. Oh how he wished they could stay like this, just him and Dally, with no one else to ruin their time together. He unconsciously snuggled closer to Dallas, and he felt that sudden, warm feeling from last night. Now that he had time to think, he wondered: Why had Dally kissed him? Not that he minded...but he was curious. It had been his first kiss...he blushed lightly at the thought. The kiss had been purely an act of friendship, he knew that. But still...

He felt Dally move against him, startling him out of his thoughts. Icy blue eyes opened slowly, hazily, and he let out a yawn. Johnny watched as Dally's eyes became more focused, and he saw a pained expression on his face. He looked at Johnny for a few seconds, then buried his head into the tanned boy's neck.

"Mornin'," Johnny said softly, noting that Dallas seemed to be in one of his scary moods. It wasn't like he was angry or anything, he was just calm; way too calm, and very quiet. He felt Dally nod against his shoulder to let him know that he'd heard him, and Johnny sighed. This was Dally's way of trying to figure things out sometimes.

"I have a headache," he said finally, shifting his head a little, causing white blonde hair to brush Johnny's chin.

"It's probably from all the cryin'," Johnny said. He was beginning to have a headache too. "Do you think we should go back now?"

Dally was quiet for a moment before answering. "Yeah, I guess." But he seemed very hesitant to do so, and Johnny was too. But they couldn't avoid it; Dally was going to leave Tulsa in a mere five days. Staying in the lot wasn't going to change that. Nothing could.

-----Five days later--------

He'd spent every possible moment with everybody, particularly Johnny, during the five days, but now Dally was sitting in the Curtis living room, surrounded by his friends. Everyone had gathered to say goodbye to the blonde, who's face was a half stoic, half nonchalant mask. Everyone could see through it, and they didn't try to hide how they felt. They were all crying, even Ponyboy, although all he seemed to get was that Dally was going away for a little while. Ashley and Steve were crying into Darry and Sodapop's shoulders, and although Darry wasn't crying, he had a look of sadness on his face. Two-Bit had tried acting cheerful, but it hadn't really worked out, and he'd started bawling towards the end too. Mrs. Curtis was crying quietly while Mr. Curtis, who was normally a very happy person, had the same, sad look on his face that Darry had. But Johnny, no doubt, was the worst.

He was crying quietly as well, but the look in his eyes was so desolate and empty that Dally was afraid to look at him for fear that he would start bawling himself. The feeling of emptiness that was threatening to eat away at his insides was presently on Johnny's face, and Dally couldn't stand it.

"Oh, Dally, we'll miss you," Ashley said, hugging Dally around the shoulders. Her light, bluish-green eyes were darkened with tears.

"I'll miss you too," Dally said, in a strong, strained voice. Glory, but he'd never had such a hard time trying not to cry.

Steve and Soda hugged him too, and Soda told him that everything would be okay. Of course, Dally knew that he was only saying that. Nothing was okay, or would be okay to Dally. Two-Bit again tried to smile and told Dally not to let those New Yorkers push him around, but in the end, once again, he was tearfully hugging Dally. Darry clapped him on the shoulder and told him to watch out for himself. Mr. and Mrs. Curtis hugged him and told him to take care of himself, and to not get too depressed about all of this. Johnny bit his lip, unable to look at the scene anymore.

Dally looked at Johnny and noticed that he was avoiding his gaze. Frowning, he walked over to Johnny, stopping in front of him. "Johnnycake?" He said quietly. Johnny looked up at him, and Dally saw that his eyes were rimmed red. "Will you walk home with me? Please?"

Johnny nodded wordlessly, and got up, trying to stop crying for Dally's sake. Everyone said goodbye, and as they were leaving, Johnny heard Ashley sob loudly, and Sodapop finally burst into tears.

"Damnit," Johnny heard Dally mutter, grinding his teeth together. Johnny knew how hard it was on the blonde to say goodbye to everyone. They'd all been so close, and Dallas leaving was like someone was tearing a piece of them away, and it hurt.

They walked in silence for a little bit, until Johnny shifted and pulled something out of his pocket. "Dally, I…I want you to have this," Johnny said quietly, afraid of talking too loud and bursting into tears. Dally took a necklace with an oval-ish silver charm on it out of Johnny's hand, staring at it in confusion.

"What is it?" He asked, noticing that there was a small guy engraved into the charm, kneeling down and holding a small child on his shoulder, and holding a staff like thing in his other hand.

"It's a St. Christopher," Johnny said. He gulped. "It's supposed to protect you while you're travelin', I think. My grandma gave it to me a few years ago, that's what she told me."

Dallas put it on, and he felt the tears in his eyes. He finally stopped trying to hold back his sobs, throwing his arms around Johnny. "Damnit Johnny, I love you so much! I don't wanna leave, I'm scared! I don't like bein' scared Johnny, and I bet all those other kids in New York will think I'm a baby or somethin'!"

"Dally, it'll be fine," Johnny choked out. He was crying too, mostly at seeing Dally break down. He hated it when Dally was sad, and he didn't want Dally to leave either. He was just as scared as Dally was, only for slightly different reasons. Johnny had never had any real best friends until he'd met Dally, almost two years ago. Dally had defended him against a bunch of sneering fourth graders, who'd been teasing him because of his old, worn out clothes. He remembered it so well it might've been just yesterday…

----Flashback----

"Hey, kid."

Johnny looked up from tying his tennis shoes, only to see three or four 9 year old kids standing over him. He frowned when he saw the scary looking smiles on their faces, knowing that look from his own father, who often got that look on his face when he was about to beat him. Johnny was only 6, and he didn't know what to do when those boys came up to him. They were dressed really nicely, with neat, pressed pants and nice sweaters, with what looked like expensive haircuts.

"What are you wearing?" One of them asked.

"Mommy too poor to buy you any nice looking rags?" Another sneered.

Johnny gulped and stayed quiet. He was getting scared, and it showed in his large, black eyes. One of the boys grabbed his jacket that he'd had next to him, picking it up between two fingers. "This thing is so old I bet Jesus wore it!" He said, and his friends roared with laughter. Johnny trembled, wanting more than anything to just get up and run away. But he knew he couldn't; the other boys would tackle him down in a second. Johnny wasn't fast enough to out run any of the big kids.

"Can you p-please give that back," he asked in a high-pitched, squeaky voice. The boys looked at one another and grinned.

"Oh sure; but only if you can grab it," the boy said. Johnny didn't move. He knew that it was a trick of some kind. But the older kids wouldn't stop; they wanted to goad Johnny as much as possible.

"Oh come one, don't you want your jacket back?"

"Wouldn't your mommy and daddy be mad if you didn't get it back? I mean, I bet this was their life savings…"

Oh god. His parents. He hadn't even thought about that! They would kill him if he lost that jacket! Johnny's tan face paled considerably, and he began shaking worse than before.

"Give him his jacket," said a cool voice.

The nice looking boys turned around to see who had dared to boss them around, and Johnny looked too. It was a skinny boy, with blonde hair that was almost as pale as his skin, and piercing blue eyes. His features were cold and calm, and Johnny felt almost instant admiration for the boy. He seemed familiar somehow, too.

"You stay out of this, you little brat," the one holding his jacket hissed.

"And what if I don't?" The blonde asked coolly, hands shoved in his pockets.

"Then you're gonna get your scrawny ass kicked," the nine year old replied, looking so mean that Johnny felt afraid for the pale boy. But he just grinned, his blue eyes dancing.

"Do ya'll know Darrel Curtis? Big ten year old always playin' football?"

Then the group of boys began to look uneasy. Johnny knew who Darrel Curtis was, and only knew that he was the biggest kid in school. "Yeah, we know him," one of them said. The blonde boy just smiled a little bigger.

"Really? So do I. Real good. And I bet if I asked him, he could pound ya'll into the ground." Johnny watched as the boys all looked at eachother, obviously trying to figure out if it was a bluff or not.

"Prove it," one of them said, although his voice was a little shaky. The blonde shrugged and turned towards the big kid's side of the school playground, where a bunch of boys were playing football.

"Darry!" He shouted, and to everyone's amazement, one of the guys, the biggest one, looked over. The blue-eyed boy waved, and the big guy waved back before going back to playing. The well dressed boys all looked shocked, and a little afraid. Johnny gazed in awe at the blonde as the boys gave him his jacket and stalked off, glaring daggers at the pale boy, who merely laughed.

"What a bunch of idiots," the blonde said, shaking his head. "I doubt Darry'd actually beat 'em up, he ain't the type who likes to cause trouble." He then looked down at Johnny. "You okay?" He reached out a hand to help Johnny up.

The black-eyed boy nodded, accepting the blonde's helpful hand and getting shakily to his feet. "T-Thanks," he stammered.

"No problem. What's your name, anyways?"

"J-Johnny."

"Cool. I'm Dallas Winston; you can call me Dally, if you want."

Johnny suddenly knew why the boy looked so familiar; he was the Dallas Winston. The one that all the kids in first and second grade talked about and sometimes even feared. Dallas was only 7, but he was notorious for being able to fight and swear better than some of the 9 year olds. He also had the reputation of being mean, but if Johnny hadn't seen how he threatened the rich kids, than he wouldn't have believed it; Dally was acting too nice to him to be mean. No one was ever very nice to Johnny.

"So, what grade're you in? You can't be in second, so that means either kindergarten or first. Which one?"

"First," Johnny responded timidly. Knowing who Dallas was scared him a little, but not much. If Dallas had plans on beating him up, then he wouldn't have saved him from those other kids.

"Glory kid, you're really quiet. I don't know anyone quieter than you," Dally said, looking at Johnny in mild surprise.

"I don't talk a lot. I'm sorry," Johnny said apologetically. Dallas shrugged and grinned.

"Shoot, I don't care. Nice change of things, I guess. Two-Bit, Soda, and Steve are always so loud that I think I might go deaf sometimes." Dally paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. "I wonder what the gang will think of you? Hm…"

Johnny looked up, startled. Gang? "What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, do you have anyone else to hang out with?"

Johnny shook his head, suddenly filled with both hope and fear. Could Dally possibly be telling him what he thought he was telling him?

"Well then, ya'll can hang out with us," Dally said, giving Johnny a devilish grin. "Only so long as you don't mind hangin' out with a bunch of looney birds."

Johnny's eyes were round. "O-Okay. I don't mind." Dallas chuckled. Then, his black eyes very serious and a little scared, he looked up at Dally and asked, "So are we friends now?"

Dallas looked at him and shrugged. "Shoot, I guess so." Johnny grinned, and Dally laughed. Johnny was excited and happy; he had a real friend.

"C'mon, let's go see the gang."

---------End Flashback------------

When Dallas finally let go of Johnny, his eyes were rimmed with red, and his nose was red too. Johnny figured he probably looked about the same.

"I'm gonna miss you Johnnycake. You're my best friend, and don't you ever forget it!" Dally said. Johnny nodded, still sniffling.

"I know. You're my best friend too Dally. I-I-" Johnny couldn't finish his sentence, so he just hugged Dally again, wishing for all the world that he didn't have to let go. Dally heard his father calling him, however, and gently removed himself from Johnny's embrace.

"Bye Johnnycake," he said quietly, gulping and struggling to breathe normally as he forced back more sobs.

"Bye Dally," Johnny said, shaking. Dallas turned around and ran the rest of the way to his house, knowing that if he didn't run, he wouldn't have been able to move.

"Fuck," he muttered to himself, tears still leaking from his eyes. His dad glared at him as he came to a stop at the drive-way.

"Who the hell was that?" He asked. Dally didn't answer. He didn't even look at him. Lisa-Ann finally came out of the house, dark brown hair tied into a knot, and heavy makeup on her face.

"Is it time to go?" She asked in a sickly sweet voice. Dally wanted nothing more than to just run at her and beat the living hell out of her; it was all her fault that he had to leave. The stupid bitch…

"Yeah. Get in the car Dallas," his father said gruffly. Dallas got into the backseat silently, not saying a word to either adult. He hated them. He hated them both so much. And all he could think about on the way to the train station was Johnny. He played with the St. Christopher around his neck, staring out the window. He promised himself that he'd come back to Tulsa some day. He'd come back for Johnny. He always would.

Johnny simply stared at the car until it was no longer visible on the road. Then he sat down and wept, swearing and screaming as loud as he could. He didn't stop until he felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned around to see Soda standing behind him, his eyes still red and puffy. Steve was with him too, and he was still crying.

"Come on Johnnycake," Soda said softly, pulling Johnny up gently. "It's time to go home."

Johnny nodded, tears still running down his cheeks. As they walked back to the Curtis house, Johnny swore that he would start writing a letter tomorrow. He had faith that Dally would too. He'd given Dallas his address, and he knew that he had to get a letter from Dally first before he could send one to him. But he'd start writing anyways. He'd write one every day, even though he knew that when he starting sending them, Dally would probably only get them every week or so, since New York was so far away, but that didn't matter. And those were the last thoughts he had before drifting off to sleep on the Curtis's couch.

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Aaaangst. Man, that was a hard chapter for me to write. And I hate to disappoint those who are waiting for the slash, but that won't happen until after Dally gets back from NY. Until then, the relationship will mostly stay brotherly. Sorry!-squeaks- Anyways, sorry if this seems short, but I figured that this was the best place to leave off. The story won't really be going by individual days after this, and the next chapter will mostly be about Dally, and him getting settled into his apartment. You'll also learn a little more about Dally's mother and Lisa-Ann. And much love to all my reviewers! See you all later!


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